New York Jets: Raiders loss proves why it is time to play the kids at quarterback

The New York Jets performance against the Raiders proves why it’s time to play the young quarterbacks.

Let’s face it, the New York Jets aren’t going anywhere in 2017. I am as big of a Jets fan as anyone and I am not even in favor of tanking, but this is obvious. The defense clearly isn’t as good as everyone thought it might be. The offense just doesn’t have the horses to keep up with anyone. They could barely keep up with the Buffalo Bills, much less a talented team like the Oakland Raiders. Any dreams of a miracle have flown right down the tubes.

45-20 is not a competitive game. Yes it was competitive in the first half, but good teams pull away in the second half. When the Jets ran out of steam it was full steam ahead for the Raiders. After the muffed punt by Kalif Raymond it was as if the Raiders were in a different league. That would be why there is another obvious point that came from week two.

It’s time to sit Josh McCown and play the kids at quarterback. It’s time to look ahead to the future and forget about today.

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The performance against the Raiders goes hand in hand with the reason McCown needs to sit. Per SNY, coach Bowles named McCown the starter because he gave the Jets the “best chance to win.” We’ve heard that one before but that is a different discussion.

He gives them the best chance to win. It’s the common argument made prior to the beginning of any regular season. But watch the team play. We have seen them play two games so far. What inspires you to believe they will win ANY games? Josh McCown has very little to work with as we all know.

Putting him in the lineup is not influencing whether or not the Jets can win anything. Actually, his tendency to be conservative could be hurting the offense. However you want to look at it, playing McCown does not drastically increase their chances to win. There needs to be talent all over the roster for that to be the case. This just in, there isn’t.

What the Jets need to do is think about what is going to benefit them the most in the future. It sounds counterintuitive for a head coach with his job on the line to think that way but he should. Woody Johnson has stated that the record is not the mandate for Bowles returning in 2018. That means they will be looking at the development of the team. If there is a clear plan in place going forward that will earn a lot of points with the owner and the general manager, assuming of course that he stays.

The Jets know what Josh McCown is. It’s time to find out, once and for all, what Bryce Petty is and what Christian Hackenberg is. Even if the answer is, “not much”, they need to find out.

Next: Jets week two report card

If you want to forget about Hackenberg for now that’s fine. We saw what he did in the preseason. Bryce Petty earned the right to play. If the competition were legitimate he would have been named the starter. Only because it was a Jets competition is he relegated to number two status. It’s time to elevate Petty. Let’s see what the kids have.

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